/ 25 February 2000

SAA ‘STILL TO DECIDE’ ON NEW PLANES

TRANSNET, the key shareholder in South African Airways, said on Thursday the purchase of new planes for the carrier is on course but insists no supplier has yet been chosen for the R4,3-billion contract. Transnet denied reports that the SAA board reached a decision last week, apparently naming Boeing Co. as its preferred supplier. Europe’s Airbus Industrie and US-based Boeing have bid for the contract for 20 to 25 planes for SAA’s domestic and regional fleet. ”Everything is on course and SAA will be getting new aircraft. The question of what kind they’re going to be is still to be settled,” Tager told Reuters in a telephone interview said.